Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

IRobot faces a murky future amid rising Roomba competitors

The company is still “number one,” said Elizabeth Parks, president of market research firm Parks Associates in Dallas. But it’s a shaky number one. Parks estimates that iRobot had nearly two-thirds of the robot vacuum market in 2018, but now holds only a 48 percent share. Meanwhile, rival robot makers like SharkNinja, Roborock, Eufy, and Ecovacs have been steadily chipping away.

One possible reason, according to Parks, is concern about data privacy. More advanced versions of the Roomba and other robots use visual sensors to generate detailed maps of the user’s home. This information is shared with the manufacturers to develop more advanced products, but it could also potentially be used to monitor users.

From the article, "IRobot faces a murky future amid rising Roomba competitors" by Hiawatha Bray

Previously In The News

Value add-ons give dealers competitive advantage

The annually published “Security Dealer Survey” by Parks Associates, a market research and consulting company that covers the residential security industry from both a consumer and dealer perspective,...

Resolving Smart Home Device Problems: Growing Opportunity for Support Services

As the connected home ecosystem continues to grow and the technical complexity of broadband households increases, the technical support needs of consumers change. Currently consumers own an average of...

Apple TV+ Joins an Industry that has Been Stagnant for Three Years

Parks Associates recently released a study that uncovered household spending on subscription over the top (OTT) services has been stagnant for the past three years. Average spending on these services...

What Should We Make of Smart Appliance Adoption?

Research firm Parks Associates is in the midst of drumming up all kinds of interest and excitement around its upcoming CONNECTIONS conference, which is scheduled to run May 21-23 out in San Francisco....